


Messing With The Mouse

by MarcusRowland



Series: Terawatt Tales [2]
Category: Disney Animated Fandoms, The Secret World of Alex Mack
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-15 00:39:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5765086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarcusRowland/pseuds/MarcusRowland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is fanfic of fanfic, an authorised sequel to Diane Castle's <a href="http://tthf.me/Rlcd"><i>The Secret Return of Alex Mack</i></a> and related stories, and makes little sense if you aren't familiar with the setting. I've included some notes to make things a little clearer, but to avoid spoilers you'll probably want to read them first. The main fandom is <i>The Secret World of Alex Mack</i>, with AU versions of characters from other fandoms, most notably Buffy and Stargate SG-1.</p><p>Several years after the end of <i>The Secret World of Alex Mack</i> her world is experiencing a super-powers singularity, with new technologies emerging to create more and more superheroes and villains with a range of powers. One Californian organisation is an early victim of metahuman crime, and has the resources to do something about it. What could possibly go wrong..?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Messing With The Mouse

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Secret Return of Alex Mack](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/169930) by Diane Castle. 



> This is set in the Teraverse, the world of Diane Castle’s _[The Secret Return of Alex Mack](http://tthf.me/Rlcd)_ and related stories, and contains many spoilers for it; many thanks to Diane Castle for allowing me to play with the setting. If you haven’t read her stories (or at least _[The League of Extraordinary Women](http://tthf.me/Glvw)_ and _[The Secret Return of Alex Mack](http://tthf.me/Rlcd)_ ) this won’t make a lot of sense. I’ve tried to avoid anything that conflicts with the series and stories by other authors set in this universe, apologies if I’ve missed anything.
> 
> If you haven't read these stories you should be aware that in _The Secret World of Alex Mack_ a drug called GC-161 can trigger superpowers including telekinesis, lightning projection, and shape changing into a silvery "morph" like a blob of mercury. The foremost superhero is Alex Mack, who adopts the superhero identity of Terawatt in _The Secret Return of Alex Mack_. Several other technologies for creating superpowers appear in _The Secret Return of Alex Mack_ ; most notably, in the 1970s-80s an evil conspiracy created "Breslynn Orphans," genetically modified children with enhanced strength, speed, intelligence and stamina. Other scientists have created a range of chemicals which can trigger superpowers, including Deemer's Solution, which (combined with radioactive compounds) triggers giganticism.
> 
> There are several crossovers in here – since some of them should come as surprises I’ll list them at the end. Nearly all of the characters belong to their creators, media conglomerates of doom, and other people who are not me – there is no intent to plagiarise other’s work or profit from it, this story may not be distributed on a profit-making basis.

“You may recall,” said the corporate attorney, “shortly before Terawatt went public, Disneyland suffered its first supervillain robbery, a thief with electrical powers who escaped with more than seventy thousand dollars.”

“I’m aware of it,” said General Jack O’Neill. “It was before Terawatt began to work with us. As I understand it, she didn’t hear about it in time to intervene.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that she or you was in any way to blame. Nevertheless, Walt Disney Corporation can’t afford to be seen as an easy target. The same thief returned three weeks later and attempted another robbery; by then we’d equipped our security teams with guns that fired nets made of conductive mesh which grounded him, and they were able to arrest him. In the following year four more metahumans attempted to rob Disneyland and other Californian facilities owned by Disney, two were successful though fortunately they escaped with relatively small amounts. We’re aware of three other robberies that were being planned when the perpetrators were arrested for other crimes.”

“I hadn’t realised it was that bad.”

“We took a minimal publicity approach.”

“You hushed it up.”

“Exactly. We soon realised that we were playing catch-up, devising new strategies after the fact. We decided to take a more proactive role. Since Atron’s metas were most active in California it was practical to consider a locally based solution, as well as rolling out more conventional security measures there and at Walt Disney World, EuroDisney, and other facilities outside California.”

“And this solution?”

“We decided to form our own California-based superhero team. Preferably one that would be easily identifiable with Disney’s corporate image.”

Jack grinned and said “What could possibly go wrong?”

“There were some obvious problems, of course. Terawatt and her colleagues were unavailable, busy with national security issues, and most of the other known metas were criminals or otherwise unsuitable for employment; for example, even if Azure Crush hadn’t started out as a criminal, her life style made her entirely unsuitable for a corporation representing family values.”

“And?”

“We looked at various alternatives.”

*

**Audio Transcript - Video Record Available**

[Doctor Bryant] “This is Animatronics test S-zero-one, repeat S-zero-one. Cameras are live, audio recorders are live. Sound hack 10.00 AM in three two one [beep]. Rebooting test unit BL-01…”

[delay of 6 minutes 40 seconds]

[DB] “Reboot complete. Main computer is live, AI is on line, sensors are active, weapon systems are running in test mode with simulated charges. Good morning, Ranger.”

[BL-01] “To infinity and beyond!”

[DB] “Good, good. Ranger, please move to test stand one, the gift stall.”

[Machinery noises for 5 seconds ending in loud crash]

[DB] “Ranger, what just happened?”

[BL-01] “I fell.”

[Doctor Lambert] “Just running the video, he tripped over the power cable.”

[DB] “Ranger, get up, please.”

[BL-01] “I’m sorry, Doctor Bryant, I can’t do that.”

[DL] “Did we program him for that?”

[DB] “Seriously? We [deleted] forgot to tell him how to [deleted] get up if he falls over?”

[DL] [deleted]

[DB] “OK, shut him down, we’d better get this fixed.”

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Dr. Robert White, Vice President for Research and Development  
To: Dr. Mary Bain, R&D Facility 3  
Re: Illegal Experiments, Promotion

Doctor Bain, thanks again for the heads up on Doctor Clifton. I know it’s often difficult to go over your immediate superior’s head, but I can’t think of any way his plans would have ended well. We don’t even have permits for the sort of biological experimentation he was proposing. Accordingly, I’ve suspended his laboratory access and arranged for him to spend some time in mandatory counseling sessions pending reassignment. Please check his laboratory and ensure that any chemicals he may have tried to synthesize are safely destroyed. I’ve cancelled the radium order – fortunately it didn’t get through purchasing anyway since the supplier naturally wanted to see some permits first.

As of this date you are promoted to acting Head of Facility 3, promotion to be reviewed in 90 days. Please make it your first priority to point out to your colleagues that experiments with GC-161, Deemer’s Solution, and radioactive materials are NOT permitted under Corporate Safety Policy or our Ethical Policy, and are against State and Federal Law.

And if you can figure out how Clifton made the jump from “Deemer’s Solution makes animals big” and “GC-161 may cause superpowers” to “let’s try to make giant super-powered anthropomorphic mice” please let me know. I’m an engineer, not a biologist, but even I can tell that’s a really stupid idea. Personally I blame the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Bob White

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Arthur Greenslade, Land Resources Department  
To: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
Re: Paradise Valley

Ms Nicole, I’ve put together all of the information I can find on the Paradise Valley situation in public records. I should emphasise that I am not a doctor, my relevant expertise is mostly in ecology and pollution control. I will try to produce a full briefing package for you in a week or so, but the main talking points will be as follows:

1: The whole town was contaminated while Danielle Atron controlled the chemical plant. Low levels of contaminants (GC-161 and several other pollutants) have been found to varying degrees throughout the town and for several miles out into the surrounding land.

2: The most heavily contaminated area consists of the water runoff, creek and surrounding land downstream from the plant. Fortunately the creek does not feed into the town’s drinking water supply and the area is not cultivated. Seepage into the water table appears to have been minimal. EPA decontamination of this area is an ongoing process.

Newspaper reports (the Paradise Valley Gazette) show the creek and surrounding land as used for various recreational activities including fishing, an annual free carnival sponsored by Paradise Valley Chemicals, educational field trips, etc. so many residents may have been exposed there. It isn’t clear at this point if GC-161 builds up in the food chain, like many other pollutants, but anyone who has ever eaten fish from this creek may be at risk.

3: The factory employs approximately 15% of the town’s residents for periods in excess of a year, 12% for periods in excess of five years. Cancer levels amongst former employees are considerably higher than the average for the town as a whole, which in turn are 73% above national averages. Statistics are not yet available for the period since the regime at the factory changed; I would expect to see an improvement.

4: Fortunately relatively few residents live close to the factory. Most of those living within a mile of the factory have been tested for GC-161 and other pollutants. 28% of those tested were contaminated, usually at low levels. Higher levels were reported in plant workers (and office staff etc. working for Paradise Valley Chemicals), drivers and delivery personnel who made regular visits to the plant, and others who visited frequently.

5: Police reports etc. imply that the dose needed to trigger powers is low, possibly as little as a few hundred milligrams of the active compound, and that the chemical can be absorbed orally or by skin contact. Precise details are not available, but the dosage seems comparable with the higher levels of contamination seen in some factory workers.

6: Some FDA and EPA personnel and volunteers (including National Guardsmen) have tested positive after working on the cleanup; most notably, those who were involved in the early stages. Given Terawatt’s history, apparent age and obvious military / law enforcement experience it seems plausible that she was involved in the process in some capacity and exposed to GC-161, possibly in combination with other chemicals. 

I hope that these preliminary findings are useful. My guess, for what it’s worth, is that there are probably more metahumans resident in the area; the levels of GC-161 reported in the cleanup crew are not significantly different to those of regular factory personnel, although they may have been exposed over a shorter period.

Arthur Greenslade

*

**Audio Transcript - Video Record Not Available**

[Doctor Bryant] “This is Animatronics test S-zero-five, repeat S-zero-five. Cameras are live, audio recorders are live. Sound hack 11.15 AM in three two one [beep]. Rebooting test unit BL-01…”

[delay of 7 minutes 20 seconds]

[DB] “Reboot complete. Main computer is live, AI is on line, sensors are active, weapon systems are running in test mode with simulated charges. Good morning, Ranger.”

[BL-01] “To infinity and beyond!”

[DB] “Good, good. Ranger, please move to test stand one, the gift stall.”

[machinery noises 18 seconds]

[DB] “Excellent. Ranger, for exercise purposes Doctor Lambert will play a thief. Once he commits a crime you will apprehend him. Understood?”

[BL-01] “Acknowledge, Star Command, I've set my laser from stun to kill.”

[DB] “No, Ranger. You are at all times to use minimal force.”

[BL-01] “Returning laser to stun setting.”

[DB] “Doctor Lambert, I want you to take a T-shirt from the rack and walk away without paying.”

[Doctor Lambert] “Okay.”

[BL-01] “This diabolical plot can only be the work of the sworn enemy of the Galactic Alliance - Evil Emperor Zurg! Emperor Zurg, you are unmasked.”

[DB] “What?”

[Zapping noise]

[BL-01] “My laser has been sabotaged! Activating brawling mode.”

[DB] “Ouch! What are you doing?”

[BL-01] “Take that, Zurg! And that!”

[DB] “Owww! Lambert, do something!”

[DL] “Commander! End simulation!”

[Loud crash, believed to be destruction of video camera]

[DL] “End simulation!”

[BL-01] “Be quiet, minion, my business is with Emperor Zurg!”

[DB] “Shut it down! [deleted] Shut it down!”

[Loud thuds, scream, silence]

[DL] “Are you all right, Doctor?”

[DB] “Just [deleted] peachy. How did you shut it down?”

[DL] “Pulled out the plug. What the hell went wrong?”

[DB] “I think… yes, we derived his personality modelling from the films and the computer game. In the game Buzz Lightyear thinks that Zurg is the controlling genius behind all crime. I gave the order to commit a crime, therefore I must be [deleted] Zurg.”

[DL] “Oy.”

[DB] “We need to re-think the programming a little. And look at a power supply that can’t be unplugged. But first, get me the first aid kit.”

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
To: Lawrence Clark, Security Division  
Re: Paradise Valley Recruitment Campaign

Larry, as discussed we sent a recruitment team to Paradise Valley in hopes of finding some GC-161 metahumans that might be suitable for the proposed super-team. To avoid premature publicity an independent recruiting company was used, with their field personnel unaware that we were the clients.

There were several problems and delays. Most notably, three recruiting staff were arrested by Paradise Valley PD, apparently on suspicion that they were working for the ‘evil empire.’ Two were eventually released without charge, the third (a Canadian national) had over-stayed his work visa and was subsequently deported. In general PVPD personnel were unhelpful and unwilling to discuss the metahuman situation in the town, apparently because of privacy concerns following Atron’s unethical activities.

There were fifty-three applicants; of these:  
* Nine claimed to be suffering from illnesses that may be attributable to GC-161 or other pollutants and appeared to be under the impression that our recruiters were actually lawyers preparing another Class Action Lawsuit against Paradise Valley Chemicals.  
* Twenty-four were under age, had criminal records, or were otherwise weeded out without interviews.  
* Seventeen claimed to have metahuman abilities which could not be tested or were dubious at best such as “enhanced taste” (nobody seems to be sure what was meant, including the person claiming the ability), “animal control” (a well-trained dog), “probability manipulation” (loaded dice) and “killer pheromones” (The interviewer described the latter as “really bad BO”).  
* One was an amateur conjuror who was able to fake telekinesis convincingly until our interviewer spotted the wires he was using.  
* Two appeared to have genuine powers:  
\- One woman with low-grade telekinesis (under 1lb maximum lift). While this is undoubtedly too weak for your purposes, I’ve passed on her details to Casting; it’s possible that we might need someone with this ability as a “special effect” for a future production, or that she may become more powerful with practice.  
\- One elderly man with vision well into the infra-red and UV spectra. This might actually be useful if we need to watch out for otherwise invisible threats, but since he is eighty-two years old and in poor health I think there would be obvious problems. I’d suggest putting him on a retainer and hoping that we never actually need his help.

In view of the cost of this exercise (over $15,000 including legal fees) and lack of useful results I would advise against repeating it unless there is substantial evidence of more metahumans in the area.

TN

*

**Audio Transcript - Video Record Available**

[Doctor Bryant] “This is Animatronics test S-zero-eight, repeat S-zero-eight. Cameras are live, audio recorders are live. Sound hack 12.20 PM in three two one [beep]. Rebooting test unit BL-02…”

[normal start-up procedures etc. follow]

[DB] “Excellent. Ranger, for exercise purposes Doctor Lambert will play a thief. Once he commits a crime you will apprehend him. Understood?”

[BL-02] “Acknowledge, Star Command.”

[DB] “Doctor Lambert, I want you to take a T-shirt from the rack and walk away without paying.”

[Doctor Lambert] “Okay.”

[BL-02] “One moment, my weapon appears to be non-operational.” [machinery noise] “Halt, evil-doer!”

[DL] “Commander! End simulation!”

[BL-02] “Last warning!”

[DB] “End simulation!”

[Gunshots, Machinery noises]

[DL] “Pull the [deleted] plug!”

[Gunshot. Machinery noises end]

[DB] “Are you all right?”

[DL] “I think that [deleted] broke my [deleted] rib. Next time you test the [deleted] gun don’t leave the [deleted] bean-bag ammo out!”

[DB] “I’ll get help.”

[DL] “Thank [deleted] we never fixed the [deleted] power problem.”

[DB] “Medical? We need first aid right away please.”

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
To: Joe Pevsner, Personnel Department  
Re: Carnivals etc.

Joe, I need a list of travelling carnivals, fairs, circuses etc. that were active in California three to ten years ago, the locations and dates of performances in that time period, and their current locations. Please highlight any visits to Paradise Valley. No urgency, but some time in the next week or so would be good. Thanks,

TN

*

**Audio Transcript - Video Record Available**

[Doctor Bryant] “This is Animatronics test S-twelve, repeat S-twelve. Cameras are live, audio recorders are live. Sound hack 11.15 AM in three two one [beep]. Rebooting test unit BL-04…”

[delay of 7 minutes 15 seconds]

[DB] “Reboot complete. Main computer is live, AI is on line, sensors are active, batteries are fully charged, weapon systems are running in test mode with simulated charges, all live ammo is secure. Good morning, Ranger.”

[BL-04] “To infinity and beyond! Wait… wait… there is nothing beyond infinity… there is nothing beyond... beyond… beyond… beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…”

[DB] “Ranger? Buzz?”

[Doctor Lambert] “Core processor temperature rising rapidly. Ninety… a hundred.. one-ten… I can smell smoke.”

[DB] “Cut power and get the fire extinguisher. End test.”

[Extinguisher noise]

[DL] “So much for making it smarter.”

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
To: Joe Pevsner, Personnel Department  
Re: Carnivals etc.

Joe, thanks for the list – I’ll be out of the office following up your leads until Monday. You have my phone and email if any urgent problems come up, but so far as I know things are pretty quiet.

Have a nice weekend,

TN

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Alex Bonham, Animatronics Division  
To: Dr. Eric Bryant. Animatronics Division  
CC: Dr. Philip Lambert, Animatronics Division  
Re: BL Project Cancellation

Guys, some bad news. Management and Corporate Legal have been getting very nervous about the robots you’re been developing, and the news that’s come in from Chicago over the last couple of days was apparently the last straw. Effective immediately this program is cancelled; any prototypes that cannot be repurposed are to be scrapped. You have until the end of the month to deal with this, which I hope will be enough time.

I know that this must come as a blow with all the work you’ve put into the project, but sometimes these things just don’t pan out. I’ll be honest, I think that even if we’d reached completion and rolled out some working units we would have been pushing our luck – sooner or later there would have been an accident, and someone might have been badly hurt.

I do have some good news; with superheroes in the news so much lately we have the go-ahead to develop more Marvel-themed rides and attractions. If we can clear the decks of the BL project quickly you’ll be team leaders on one of them.

Al.

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
To: Joe Pevsner, Personnel Department  
Re: Carnivals etc.

Joe, thanks again for finding this information so quickly; I need to follow up on a couple of leads but it looks like we may have our first metahuman. Wish me luck!

TN

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Joanne Schmitz, Health and Safety  
To: All Engineering and Maintenance Departments, All Sites  
Re: Safe Handling of Batteries

A serious incident has occurred in one of the Animatronics development laboratories. Engineers dismantling a prototype self-powered unit accidentally short-circuited an internal battery pack, causing a fire and subsequent explosion; fortunately there were no casualties, but there was substantial damage and the laboratory will be out of use for several weeks.

This unit contained four 6.5kg 12v 20 AH lithium-ion batteries, each approximately equivalent to the power supply for a 2-seater golf cart. While only one was initially damaged, delays in accessing it and use of an inadequate extinguisher allowed the fire to develop and spread to the other batteries, which in turn caught fire and eventually exploded.

Pending a full investigation, all personnel working with equipment containing these batteries should review our normal working practices and must be aware of the following points:

1: Lithium-ion batteries are usually safe, but if damaged may catch fire and potentially explode.  
2: The correct procedure for such a fire is use of a water extinguisher, since the main priority is to cool the battery before it explodes. Small extinguishers intended for computer fires etc. may not cool the battery sufficiently.  
3: If equipment contains multiple battery packs they should be separated by fireproof insulating bulkheads.  
4: When dismantling battery-powered equipment it is vital to remove the batteries first!

Thank you

Joanne Schmitz

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
To: Lawrence Clark, Security Division  
Re: Possible Metahuman

Larry, I’ve been tracking down a travelling carnival that visited Paradise Valley annually, and a circus that visited the town twice before Atron was caught. Both of them set up in one of the high-pollution areas downstream of the plant, so I’ve been hoping we might find someone who was exposed to GC-161 and ended up with useful abilities.

To cut a long story short, the carnival seems boringly normal, but the circus has had three instances of accidents where people should have been badly hurt but got away without injury. In the worst of them a high-wire performer slipped and fell nearly fifty feet; numerous witnesses claim that he floated down. It’s possible that someone like Terawatt was in the audience in her secret identity and saved him, but it can’t have been Terawatt herself; she was involved with the Umbrella Corporation decontamination at the time. Since the incidents occurred in different towns it’s most likely that someone associated with the circus has a reasonably high level of telekinesis. There are about a hundred people working there, including drivers etc., so finding the right person shouldn’t be impossible; it’s probably someone who was in the big top when each accident occurred. Maybe a clown or someone who checks the tickets.

What I don’t want to do is try to con them or snoop around more than I’ve already done; if someone’s hiding these abilities that might scare them, or trigger something like that incident with the telekinetic girl. I’d suggest going in openly, maybe have a meeting with everyone, explain what we’re after, and say that we want to make him or her a star. What do you think?

TN

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Alex Bonham, Animatronics Division  
To: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
Re: Dr. Eric Bryant, Dr. Philip Lambert

Theresa, you may have heard about the lithium battery fire last week. I think we’re going to have to find a safer line of work for the engineers responsible, since this was the culminating fiasco after we had to cancel Project BL. None of it, apart from the fire, is entirely their fault – if anything I blame myself for failing to give them sufficient supervision on an experimental project of this magnitude – but we really need to assign them to something less sensitive.

I’ve attached their resumes, I’d be grateful if you could see if we have anything more suitable for their skills.

Thanks, Al.

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Lawrence Clark, Security Division  
To: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
Re: Possible Metahuman(s)

Sorry for the delay replying, I’ve been out with flu.

Your plan sounds good to me, honesty up front is definitely the way to go. But remember we need a clean criminal record, no hint of involvement with Atron, the Orphans, etc. We can’t take any chances on this.

Larry.

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
To: Lawrence Clark, Security Division  
Re: Possible Metahuman

Larry, many apologies – it looks like I jumped the gun on this, I’ve found our meta but I’m pretty sure we can’t use her for security work without a LOT of training. Photo attached, and no I’m really not kidding. So far as I can tell she was exposed to GC-161 in the womb, when the circus visited Paradise Valley six years ago. She can already lift a couple of hundred pounds with telekinesis, and seems to be getting more powerful. She hasn’t flown yet, but it may just be a matter of time.

Although she’s a sweetheart and hasn’t hurt anyone so far there are some obvious safety issues with this. Nobody wants a repeat of the Carrie White incident if she gets upset!

Unless you have a better idea I’m going to pass this on to Casting, I think that’s a better fit than trying to stop crime.

TN

*

****  
_Los Angeles Post_  
  
Animatronics Engineers Arrested – Daring Attack on Premiere  
Two Animatronics engineers recently laid off by the Walt Disney Corporation have been arrested following last night’s daring attempt to use remote controlled drones to steal jewellery from stars attending the premiere of superhero blockbuster Metahuman Mission Force. The quadcopter drones were equipped with pepper sprays, pincers and laser cutters but the perpetrators failed to allow for radio interference caused by TV crews at the event, and lost contact before most of the crowd was aware of the attack. LAPD officers followed the trail of the drones back to a van where the perpetrators were still trying to regain control…

…Dr. Bonham stated that both men “were offered alternative work following the fire, but chose to take severance pay instead. We believe that some of the components used for the drones may have been stolen from our workshops, and will cooperate fully with the police in their investigation.”

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Lawrence Clark, Security Division  
To: Theresa Nicole, Personnel Department  
Re: Possible Metahuman(s)

Just met our newest star. Evidently Security’s loss is Studio’s gain. I think I can guess which classic animated film we’ll eventually be remaking. Already drawing up safety and contingency plans, and praying it won’t happen until after I reach retirement age.

One thing; with the Orphans finally out of the way, Atron no longer selling Geec to criminals, and Azure Crush apparently a permanent Hollywood resident there may be slightly less need for a corporate super-team. I can hope, anyway.

Larry.

*

****  
_Variety_  
  
Metahuman Mission Force Misses Fire

Despite all the usual hype, a high-concept theme described as “X-Men meets Mission Impossible,” and the publicity generated by a dramatic robbery attempt at its premiere, superhero actioner _Metahuman Mission Force_ opened this week to lacklustre reviews and poor box-office takings. Theatre-goers and critics cited a variety of causes; most notably, the all-male casting of the superhero team was described as two-dimensional and unrealistic given the prominence of female superheroes such as Terawatt, Action Girl and Azure Crush, and the special effects (which included the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge during a giant octopus attack) were described as “lame CGI” and “a bad rip-off of Harryhausen.”

Several critics have pointed out striking similarities between the film and 1955 monster movie _It Came From Beneath The Sea_ , which included a similar attack animated by Ray Harryhausen. Director Eli Cross claims that it was instead inspired by the Gojira incident in Russia and Japan. Despite this, with legal cases pending in Europe and other areas where the 1955 movie is still in copyright, it seems that problems may lie ahead for Cross and _Metahuman Mission Force._

*

**Internal Memo, Walt Disney Corporation  
**  
From: Lawrence Clark, Security Division  
To: Jeff Pfister, Disney Studios  
Re: Safety concerns

Jeff, I’m aware of your safety concerns and have to say I agree – she’s come a long way fast, I think we need to step back for a minute and look at the potential problems. She's already flying, and I’m really not sure we can keep her contained for long. Los Angeles really isn’t ready for that…

I’m going to recommend that we contact the government super-team and get their advice. I hope that you’ll support me in this, we really don’t want any accidents. 

Larry.

*

“And that’s where things stand,” said the attorney. “We’ve nearly finished filming, and I have to say it’s gone really well. But we have no idea what we’re going to do with her once shooting ends. She’s getting more powerful by the day.”

“I guess I can see your problem,” said Jack O’Neill. He raised his voice. “What do you think, Terawatt?”

Terawatt flew down from the top of the set and smiled. “She’s a real sweetheart, but I agree she’ll be a handful. And you can’t really let her fly free…” There was a loud thud and several pounds of dung hit the sound stage floor and splashed, “…unless you’re planning to give everyone in Los Angeles reinforced umbrellas.”

Jack began to sing. “I saw a peanut stand, heard a rubber band  
And seen a needle wink its eye  
But I be done seen about everything...”

“But on a more practical note?” said the attorney.

The trainer held up a bunch of bananas and whistled, and Disney’s most powerful meta flew down, ears flapping, gently plucked them from his hand with her trunk and began to stuff them into her mouth.

“Shaman,” said Terawatt. “She lives in the jungle, she already has elephant friends. She’ll love her.”

“And you could make a documentary about returning her to the wild,” said Jack. “It’d make a great DVD extra.”

“That sounds like an excellent solution,” said the attorney. “I’ll have to run it past Head Office, but assuming they agree would you be able to help with the logistics? At our expense, of course?”

“I can’t think of any reason why not.”

They shook hands on it, and Dumbo trumpeted gently.

**End**

Crossovers: _Toy Story, Mickey Mouse, Dumbo_

Many thanks to Diane Castle for allowing me to play with her universe. The versions of Jack O’Neill and Alex Mack (Terawatt) seen in this story are from _The Secret Return of Alex Mack_ , as are Azure Crush, Action Girl and Shaman. Eli Cross is a fictional film director from the film _The Stunt Man_ , originally played by Peter O'Toole. All other characters were invented for this story. The Chicago incident mentioned comes from Batzulger’s _[Chicago Seven](http://www.tthfanfic.org/Series-2978)_ series, which is also set in the Terawatt universe. Deemer's Solution is derived from the film _Tarantula_ and was originally in _The Secret Return of Alex Mack_. The robo-Buzz scenes were, of course, suggested by this scene from Robocop:

https://youtu.be/mrXfh4hENKs

The song Jack starts to sing can be found here: 

https://youtu.be/E2d4bj592ig 

Before anyone asks, I'm well aware that most circus elephants are Indian, not African; for story purposes Dumbo is an exception.

I’m not currently planning to do any more with these characters or this version of Dumbo, so if anyone else wants to use them in a story please feel free – but run it past Diane, of course!


End file.
